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Which Linux for a PowerPC 6500/225
- Thread starter woopud
- Start date
QuadSix50
Well-known member
I recommend Debian. You can do it with Ubuntu, but there's some trickery that you have to do, like copy the kernel over to the Mac OS partition if you're installing on an Old World Mac like the 6500.
Which brings me to my next topic: on Old World Macs, you are required to have a Mac OS partition installed because of the hardware ROM. BootX is the bootloader that you're going to use to go from Mac OS to GNU/Linux. The Mac OS partition doesn't have to be large at all.....about 50 MB is more than enough. Thankfully, BootX comes with an extension that doesn't require you to boot totally into Mac OS before going to GNU/Linux. As the Mac OS begins to boot, you're introduced with the BootX extension and from there you can choose to continue to Mac OS or boot into GNU/Linux.
There's more information here on getting Linux/ppc installed on Old World Macs at the following site:
http://penguinppc.org/bootloaders/bootx/
As for New World Macs, since they don't require a Mac OS to be installed, you can just install on them as you would on an x86 PC. The only difference is that you need to add a bootstrap partition which will hold the kernel (which is HFS based). More information on what to expect with PowerPC machines and GNU/Linux at the following link:
http://penguinppc.org/mac/
Which brings me to my next topic: on Old World Macs, you are required to have a Mac OS partition installed because of the hardware ROM. BootX is the bootloader that you're going to use to go from Mac OS to GNU/Linux. The Mac OS partition doesn't have to be large at all.....about 50 MB is more than enough. Thankfully, BootX comes with an extension that doesn't require you to boot totally into Mac OS before going to GNU/Linux. As the Mac OS begins to boot, you're introduced with the BootX extension and from there you can choose to continue to Mac OS or boot into GNU/Linux.
There's more information here on getting Linux/ppc installed on Old World Macs at the following site:
http://penguinppc.org/bootloaders/bootx/
As for New World Macs, since they don't require a Mac OS to be installed, you can just install on them as you would on an x86 PC. The only difference is that you need to add a bootstrap partition which will hold the kernel (which is HFS based). More information on what to expect with PowerPC machines and GNU/Linux at the following link:
http://penguinppc.org/mac/
ChristTrekker
Well-known member
I've been fond of Yellow Dog, since they've been in the business of Linux for PPC longer than just about anyone. I've been a happy user of YDL for ~5 years.
Well, I'm a lot further along now trying to install Ubuntu 5.04, I installed BootX, copied the kernel (vmlinux) to the System folder and if I start BootX i can choose linux, it starts booting and then stops and says "can't find a root system" What do I have to do ?
Bert
PowerPC 6500/225 64mb Ram
Bert
PowerPC 6500/225 64mb Ram
I got it to boot and install Ubuntu 5.04 but at the end of the installation it said that there was no bootloader installed and that I have to use root=/dev/hda2 to boot Ubuntu. How exactly do i do that ? Right now when I boot up I just get the floppy with the question mark. Is there a way to put bootx on a floppy using a PC with windows ? I have a B/W G3 running OS 10.4 + Ubuntu 7.10 but it has no floppy drive.
Bert
Bert
QuadSix50
Well-known member
In BootX, there's an option to input kernel arguments. That's where you would put it. However, I believe that you still need to copy over the ramdisk image from the /boot directory in the Linux partition over to the Mac partition and in the System Folder since Linux kernel 2.6 wants to use a ramdisk to boot off of now (and I think it was still the case back then with Ubuntu 5.04).
In BootX, if you click on the Options button you'll notice a section where you can specify the ramdisk image. Select the one you copied over from your Linux partition and you should be good to go (you still might need that kernel argument you mentioned earlier in the main BootX screen though).
More info about BootX and GNU/Linux on Old World Macs here:
http://penguinppc.org/bootloaders/bootx/
QuadSix50
Well-known member
You were able to do this on the PM 6500??? :?: Usually you need a Mac OS partition for BootX to run unless you used quik as the bootloader. I find BootX to be the safer option in Old World Macs as quik can possibly leave your Old World Mac unbootable is something goes wrong.
QuadSix50
Well-known member
Yeah, you can't get rid of the Mac OS partition. However, you can make it small enough just to hold the necessary files (BootX and associated files, kernels, and ramdisk). There's also a system extension that brings up BootX before it boots up the Mac OS so you don't have to waste time booting into Mac OS just to get to your Ubuntu partition.
Okay, now I wiped the hard drive, booted the OS 8.6 install CC, created twp pqrtitions, installed OS 8.6 on the first. Then I installed bootx, booted and installed Ubuntu. But now I have to put the kernel from the installed Ubuntu in the Linux Kernels folder but how do i do that ? When I boot up now, bootx will come up but has the wrong kernel so it gives me an error. Then it will just boot into OS 8.6
Bert
Bert
QuadSix50
Well-known member
Before you restart the Mac after you've installed Ubuntu, you need to move to another virtual console using one of the F keys up top. From there, you're going to create a folder with the name of your choosing (this is where you're going to mount the Mac OS partition). Then, you need to type "modprobe -a hfs hfsplus" to mount both the HFS and HFS+ modules.
Once you've done that, you're going to mount the Mac OS partition over to the directory that you created. So basically type "mount -t /dev/". The depends on how you created the Mac partition. If it's Mac OS Extended, then it's "-t hfsplus". If it's Mac OS Standard, then it's "-t hfs".
Once you have that partition mounted, you're going to copy the kernel and ramdisk located in /target/boot/ over to the directory that the Mac OS partition is mounted on using the "cp" command. After you've copied the kernel and ramdisk image, you can then safely reboot.
Once you're back at the Mac OS partition, configure BootX to use the kernel and ramdisk you copied over (place the kernel in the Linux Kernels folder and the ramdisk in the System Folder before doing this). Once you have that set, give the kernel argument "root=/dev/". The should be the partition that has the boot directory in it.
If all is well, you should be booting into Ubuntu. Sometimes the screen shows up black depending on the system until you actually get to GDM, so don't freak of this happens (happened to me with a Motorola StarMax 4000 in the past).
Hope this helps.
Once you've done that, you're going to mount the Mac OS partition over to the directory that you created. So basically type "mount -t /dev/". The depends on how you created the Mac partition. If it's Mac OS Extended, then it's "-t hfsplus". If it's Mac OS Standard, then it's "-t hfs".
Once you have that partition mounted, you're going to copy the kernel and ramdisk located in /target/boot/ over to the directory that the Mac OS partition is mounted on using the "cp" command. After you've copied the kernel and ramdisk image, you can then safely reboot.
Once you're back at the Mac OS partition, configure BootX to use the kernel and ramdisk you copied over (place the kernel in the Linux Kernels folder and the ramdisk in the System Folder before doing this). Once you have that set, give the kernel argument "root=/dev/". The should be the partition that has the boot directory in it.
If all is well, you should be booting into Ubuntu. Sometimes the screen shows up black depending on the system until you actually get to GDM, so don't freak of this happens (happened to me with a Motorola StarMax 4000 in the past).
Hope this helps.
QuadSix50
Well-known member
Boot off the CD again using BootX (add "rescue" to the kernel argument and see if it loads the rescue scripts). Once you're booted into the installation, F-key into another virtual console and mount both the Mac partition and the Linux partition (don't forget to create the directories you want to mount them in). Make sure you load the hfs and hfsplus module before mounting the Mac partition. Then, copy the kernel from the /boot directory in the mounted Linux partition over to the mounted Mac OS partition.
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